Antonius Block (Max Von Sydow), a knight, returns from a 10-year crusade with his squire, Jöns, to find his homeland ravaged by the plague. When the black-cloaked figure of Death appears to claim them, Block, whose war experiences have left him cynical about the existence of God and the afterlife, challenges Death to a game of chess to stall for time and gain some insight into the meaning of life before passing on. The game is intermittently paused and resumed during the journey home while Block and Jöns meet several traveling companions, including a mute girl whom they save from a bandit, and a family of poor traveling players--Jof, a gentle visionary; his wife, Mia; and their infant daughter. Block witnesses much suffering and anguish along the way (an encounter with a woman accused of witchcraft who is about to be burned at the stake is especially jarring) but also finds evidence of human kindness and love, prompting him to realize that even a single gesture of goodwill might make the long struggle of his existence worthwhile. 1957. Not Rated. 96 minutes.

WILD STRAWBERRIES is among Ingmar Bergman’s most rich and contemplative films, a lyrical reflection on guilt and disappointment in the form of a spiritual journey. The movie stars Victor Sjöström as Professor Isak Borg, an elderly academic who takes a trip by car from Stockholm to Lund to receive an honorary university degree, accompanied by his daughter-in-law. Along the way, they meet various passengers who seem to be weighed down by unresolved ethical dilemmas. Meanwhile, Borg's own existential crisis is triggered by dreams and memories in which he is confronted with past disappointments, missed opportunities, and troubled personal relationships with those close to him--his son, his mother, and his late wife. The film features stunning imagery, most notably in the flashback, dream, and nightmare sequences, as well as an outstanding final film performance by Sjöström (who is also a famed Swedish director of the silent era). 1957. Not Rated. 95 minutes.

THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY won Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film for the second year in a row. The picture represents Bergman’s first experiment with what he referred to as the chamber play, featuring only four characters whose configuration resembles that of a string quartet. Karin (Harriet Andersson), a young woman recently released from a mental institution, is on holiday on a secluded island with her father, David, a writer; her husband, Martin (Max von Sydow); and her younger brother, Minus. The presence of her family, who are caught up in their own problems and unable to offer her the love and emotional support she requires, proves detrimental to Karin’s mental condition instead of bringing about her recovery. Soon she is undergoing an emotional crisis, culminating in the memorable hallucinogenic episode in which she envisions God as a spider. 1961. Not Rated. 95 minutes.

Director Ingmar Bergman had intended FANNY AND ALEXANDER to be his final theatrical film and a summing-up of sorts of his entire cinematic career. FANNY AND ALEXANDER is the story of two children belonging to a wealthy, extensive theatrical family in provincial Sweden in the early years of the 20th century—10-year-old Alexander and his younger sister, Fanny. When their father dies unexpectedly during a performance and their mother decides to remarry, the children are forced to relocate to the austere (and possibly haunted) home of their stern and rather coldhearted stepfather, Bishop Vergerus. A means of escape is eventually provided by Isak Jacobi, a longtime friend of the Ekdahl family's who seems to possess magical powers. In this somewhat autobiographical movie—which was filmed in the director’s hometown of Uppsala—the gifted, precocious Alexander is a stand-in for Bergman himself, who had a problematic relationship with his own father, a strict clergyman. At once festive, spooky, and bawdy—and uncharacteristically life-affirming—FANNY AND ALEXANDER is one of Bergman’s most universally appealing and accessible works. Rated R. 188 minutes. 1982.